Corrupted
by GodSaveTheKings
Summary: Before the Avatar, there was Raava and Vaatu. Before Raava and Vaatu, there was the Tree of Time. Before the Tree of Time, there was the Negative Realm, and the Corrupt. When the world is unbalanced, true destruction is awaken, and, no matter how hard they fight, everyone will fall. A brutal challenge of trust, heartbreak, and hope has just begun.
1. A Long Boring Prologue

**A story by the King of Spades**

**This story was inspired by many things, which in turn, seemed to inspire each other. If you have the kind heart to leave any sort of review, it would be most tremendously appreciated. All feedback is welcome.**

**Enjoy yourself, reader! **

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**1,000,000 Years Before The Worlds Re-Joined**

The battle was concluding.

The end was almost upon them.

And, for the first time in an eon, balance was nearly restored.

But the march was taking its toll on the forces of the Micrium. Their arms grew heavy from carrying thick shields, and long spears, and heavy armor. They prayed for rest, yet they knew they would receive none. If one would be able to closely examine their faces, they would see nothing but the black pit of fear, plastered across their otherwise vacant expressions. The formation was supposed to protect them: three legions of five-hundred Tallum each, marching with heads high, backs straight and proud, carrying such long spears and thick shields, in unison around a battle wagon. Three legions meant three battle wagons, and they assembled in a V-shape, intent on covering themselves from all angles. The two battle wagons on the side were only a hundred meters tall, and a mere seventy five meters wide. However, the central battle wagon, which contained the High Condcium, royal maidens, court agustos, councilors of all three provinces, Great Phallums, and so forth, requiring it to be exactly 1.7 times the size.

A common question one such as you might be questioning at this point would be such as this: Why would the High Condcium and its head followers be charging in the main battle wagon towards the heart of Bitaa, in the dead center of the opposite realm? Or perhaps, the following phrase might otherwise expel from your bewildered lips: What are we even talking about at this precise moment?

Well, I suppose that some exposition must be gathered before the following tale can continue. However, given the urgency of such events, I must very little about both the Micrium and the Corrupt, as the rest will (of course) promptly be revealed when they are needed further. Not to mention, one would not want to _entirely_ bore the reader with millions of years' worth of backstory, right?

The universal conception is that of two opposing forces: light and dark.

However one would misconstrued these two forces (good and evil, white and black, right and wrong), they always appeared to be the complete and utter opposites; one is the ultimate contrary force to the other.

But that is a false assumption, based solely upon conjecture.

As a matter of fact, they can actually both be attested to one physical realm; _The_ Physical Realm. The only world where spirits and mortals can obtain their existence, for they live in a world of matter ad energy. The world that most of the modern world called home. The positive side of the metaphysical coin of the universe.

And then, there is the other side of the coin. The Negative Realm. A place that, when the universe was created, festered all of the hate, depravity, aggravation, rage, heartbreak, and sorrow from the new world, and converged in on itself to create the most despicable creatures and environment in the entirety of time. Nothing applied to the Negative Realm, the universe's properties kept away from the darkness and despair. Time and space became meaningless and easily manipulated, matter became anti-matter, all of the living were dead, and the dead were manifested into violence and hatred.

Out of the creation of existence came the two realms, and then, its two populations: the Micrium, and the Corrupt.

The Micrium existed in The Positive Realm, and most closely resembled the species of man. They reproduced like man, they ate like man, they looked like man, and they loved like man. And yet, hey possessed much more than man today, as each of them possessed a deep connection to the world around them. As such, the incredible feats they performed resembled more that of god rather than man. The Positive Realm was, to the human eye, beautiful without any comparison. Its tremendous beauty is beyond those that words can describe, and so, I shall not even attempt, except to say that it was the most pure combination of dreams, love, and nature. It should then be obvious why the Micrium attached themselves to the realm in such a fashion as fusing their own personal spirit with the land.

The Micrium, given permission by the physical plane, built upon its foundations to form the three mighty kingdoms. Hericium, which garnered control of the oceans and waters, blue and majestic, existed towards a more spiritually oriented side of the world, and it was led by Gor' Sey-aah, eldest son of Rey' Sey-aah. Calling to nature, the underwater city blossomed with its focus on the arts, beauty, philosophy, and spirituality. The second kingdom, Yurium, had an incredible fascination with the self, and captured the essence of earth under the rule of Feo' Sey-aah, second son of Rey' Sey-aah. Surrounded by the three unbreakable walls built by the mighty hammer of Un' Sey-aah, the militaristic Yurium was filled with the strong and brave mortals, who bent the very ground to their whim. The middle ground between these two kingdoms was Falium, the largest and most prominent kingdom, which hovered over the middle of the world in towering command. At its throne was Rey' Sey-aah himself. Rey' could only be described as the noblest person who could have ever become king. His mighty words echoed throughout the world every time he spoke, demanding authority. Yet, his heart was easily claimed by Sey-aah Rei, the king's youthful daughter. With her by his side, he confidently controlled the winds, so that he may sail over the lands and rule at all places.

Well, I suppose that is enough of the Micrium for now. After all, cannot say all at once, you see.

But what about the Corrupt, you ask me in such curiosity. Don't I talk of them? Wasn't the whole point of this side-track was to explain the unexplained?

Calm your quivering lips, reader. I'll explain what I can.

While the Positive Plane was beautiful, inhabited by happy mortals and spirits, the Negative Realm was horrid. There was no sun in the Negative Realm. There was no moon. There was no day or night. There was simply an empty sky, which shone black upon the ground of the realm. The ground itself was only made up of corrupted dust: a dark black powder of anti-matter, which burned to the touch, and dissolved those who remained in contact for too long. As the Negative Realm continued to fester in existence, many creatures began to create themselves from the despair, known as the Corrupt. All of them were created for the sole purpose of destruction, ranging from the awful jaws of the Keeth, to the hideous whispers of fear from the Yeraa.

However, we now come to the most important creation from this time: The Aether. The utmost being of darkness, whose hate and misery casted more of a gloom over the Negative Real than any of the endless days ever could. From so much hate arose intelligence, and The Aether ruled over the Negative Realm with despair in its soul. During the endless days, he learned of the existence of dark elements; the opposite those of the Physical plane. The four dark elements provided the basis for all other materials in the Negative Realm: hellfire from the Ghastly Canyons, dark energy from the rotten core of the earth, dust from the anti-matter that littered the ground, and space-time, the infinite concept of circular reality, which had no meaning in the Negative Realm as it did in the Physical Plane. The Aether mastered all of the dark elements, and soon, wished to teach others how to master such power.

However, The Aether soon found a problem with this. Only a being of true darkness (such as The Aether himself) could control a dark element. So, as the most logical motion would dictate, The Aether divided up its own soul into four pieces, and gave out a piece to those he deemed worthy. Keeping the mastery of space-time to himself, the other three used their powers to rule over dominions of the Negative Realm.

And such, finally, we come to the main cause of the events from the beginning of this tale. The Aether, noticing how well the dark elements could control the will of others, he set out to claim control over the Physical Realm. It knew of their existence, and despised that beings such as them could ever exist in the universe. It did not care whether they were conquered or destroyed; it simply could not stand another day where they remained happy in a beautiful world while it rotted away in the Negative Realm.

This brings back to our first question: Why would the High Condcium (Rey' Sey-aah and sons) and its head followers be charging in the main battle wagon towards the heart of Bitaa, home of the Aether, in the dead center of the opposite realm?

The answer: There was nowhere else for the High Condcium to go. Yurium had its first two walls penetrated by Mintuuk, the Great Destroyer, and master of the dark element, hellfire. Hericium was under siege by the Corrupt soldiers of Okulaa, the Great Watcher, and master of the dark element, dust. And most prominently, Fallium was forced to retreat further up into the heavens to escape a formidable onslaught directly by the Corruption: a horrible fluid like material that injects itself into the desired target, before slowly converting it into negative anti-matter (a truly horrible way to go!)

Honestly, the war was all but lost at this point. It had taken ages for The Aether to seize control of so much of the Physical Plane. Perhaps, just perhaps, it was more impressive that The Aether had managed to accomplish all of this without ever needing to leave the Negative Realm.

For those of you who are wondering with doubt: Why couldn't the supreme Lord of Negativity take over the Physical Plane by himself.

To that of which, I would answer with such confidence: Because it is a being of pure anti-matter, and existing in the Physical Plane for more than a few minutes would lead to its ultimate demise in a quite destructive manner.

Regardless, hoping that this bit of information can hold you over for now, let us return to where we once began.

Ahem…

The battle was concluding.

The end was almost upon them.

And, for the first time in an eon, balance was nearly restored.

The soldiers guarding the left battle wagon presumed that they heard a noise. Most of them checked to see, turning their heads to the left to see what befell them. Unfortunately for them, they could not see anything, as the blackness of the Negative realm had taken its toll on their vision. So, they turned their heads back, as the empty wind blew dust across their faces, making each particle cause searing pain like that of a hot iron. Some Tallum, who were, if you could not guess, the most experienced soldiers in all of the Physical Plane, felt envious of the High Condcium. All locked up in their battle wagons, they thought. Letting us take all of the danger head on, they thought. The excessive whining of the Tallum was soon, fortunately, brought to a halt. _Un_fortunately, it was brought to a halt because a large wave of dust was suddenly conjured up, and collided head on with the platoon of Tallum. The wave of dust crashed over the Tallum, and covered them in seventy five meters of anti-matter. Those who were caught under the wave (all five hundred of them) cried out in agony as the particles of dust brushed up against every part of their skin, falling beneath the armored plating, through the cracks in the gloves, inside of their mouths as well. But fortunately, once again, they did not suffer long, as within five seconds the dust completely ate away at their bodies, dissolving them entirely into nothingness. The empty frames of their armor too fell beneath the weight of the dust, and despite how impressively gold and well-designed they were, they were disintegrated as well.

Meanwhile, atop the wave of dust came a monstrous fleet of Keeth charged across the black ash, before starting their ascend up to the top of the battle wagon. This battle wagon in particular, held Gor' Sey-aah, king of Hercium. Old and wise, yet short and stout, Gor looked out the window in his kingly accommodations on the battle wagon. His dark eyes scanned about a darker land, and he breathed a heavy sigh. He stroked his thick, black beard, and turned to face his room. Two guards at attention, they rushed over to dress him for battle. His armor was blue, and flowed like the waves, each intricate pattern resembling that of the sea. Even in battle, a king must have his crown, and so one was built into the suit of armor. A hood in the back snugly fit his head, before expanding outwards to reveal three thick pikes, each containing a bright sapphire. Taking his weapon of choice, a trident, in his hand, he breathed another sigh, before pointing his weapon at the door. He made a silent prayer to the spirits of the water, but never finished, as the doors were suddenly knocked down by three charging Keeth.

Trident in hand, he twirled about, and water shot out from the floor, striking one of the Keeth directly. The monstrosity was pushed back, but otherwise, was unaffected. With little-to-no regard for the water attacks, the three Keeth charged forward, and, with a vicious bite, effectively ended the reign of Gor' Sey-aah, king of Hericium.

The loss of one of his sons did little to impede Rey' Sey-aah's march towards Bitaa, as the dark fortress was already in sight. Looming over the horizon, the only structure for miles, Bitaa was a dark, tall, foreboding castle, that was half-sunken into the dust, and half-scraping the black sky at its peak. Leading up to Bitaa was a set of many stairs, which, like the rest of the land, were dark and old. The main battle wagon, which, as previously stated, contained the most important people in the Physical Plane, had now reached these stairs, and the tremendously large wheels carried the battle wagon over each of the steps.

Another wave of dust struck from the right side, wiping out another 250 Tallum with relative ease, quickly converting them into dust. Soon, the right battle wagon was forcibly stopped in its tracks, and was forced to defend itself against another wave of ravenous Keeth. While the Yurium battle wagon was halted, the main battle wagon had now reached the castle defenses.

The battle at the gates of Bitaa took many weeks before any progress from one side was made. This fully demonstrates the immense power displayed by both forces. However, I have no idea whether or not _you_ have described every detail of a thirty-day battle for the fate of the universe, but I find it would be rather tiring and near impossible.

So, let us perform a civic duty, and skip the battle entire, as the aftermath of such destruction is far more important than knowing that almost everybody died.

After the battle had concluded, Rey' Sey-aah marched along proudly to the chambers of the weakened Aether, his daughter Rei at his side. The battle had worked out favorably for the Micrium, mostly due to the king's sheer power. The halls he marched in were, as always, black, and they crumbled around him as he marched, gold armor glistening, jeweled crown on head, and great sword ready in his hand. He came to a stop at a large set of double doors. With a mighty foot, Rey' kicked the door inwards, and stared at the two figures by a large throne; one placed upon it, and the other kneeling at its side.

The figure at the side of the throne was the size of a Micrium, yet bore no resemblance beyond that. Shrouded in a dark cloak, which covered its body, the creature turned towards the king in fear. Its large eyes were black as night, with shining yellow irises. Its skin most closely resembled that of rotting flesh, and blood ran down from its eyes, all the way down its cheeks and neck. Its nose was sharp and pointed upwards, and its hideous mouth was black at the gums, its teeth rotted, pointed and black, and also contained a dark, putrid tongue. This foul creature was Rasaak, the Great Worshipper, master of the dark element of dark energy, and controller of the force known as Corruption.

The other being was impossible for Rey' Sey-aah to describe, for in its own realm of existence, its form was incomprehensible shadow. The only distinctive thing the king could make out was a pair of beast-like red eyes, which stared at him with an immense hatred.

"Your reign is over, Lord of Shadows," the king spoke with confidence. "Our realm continues to stand strong while yours crumbles into dust."

"Zu disrrespektful ingrrates!" Rasaak shouted. His voice was high and shrill, yet raspy and murky. "Zu do not speek to za Aetha like zis!"

"You will be _silent_, Rasaak!" Rey demanded. "I would cut out your tongue if I did not find it so horrid."

Rasaak growled.

"You show much courage coming to the Negative Realm, Rey' Sey-aah," The Aether spoke in a booming voice. "You show even more by bringing your offspring with you."

"Pitiful creature," Rei spoke up. Her long, golden locks of hair emitted such a beautiful light that Rasaak was forced to cover his eyes in fear of being blinded. "You speak as if you have power left."

"My daughter speaks the truth," Rey said. "While you may have invaded our land, you have exposed yourself. In fact, I have received word from Yurium. It appears that your Great Destroyer was no match for our lion turtles. They have stripped the fire away from the wicked beast's mouth, and have bestowed it upon us."

Rasaak growled again.

"Insuulent beeings," Rasaak spoke to himself. He reached underneath his cloak, and pulled out a scepter, a meter in length, with a dark crystal planted on top. Rasaak pointed the scepter at the king, and immediately, the crystal started to glow red.

"I must feenish them off," Rasaak spoke. But The Aether raised a shadowy arm, signaling Rasaak to stop.

"No," it said. "_I_ must destroy Rey' Sey-aah. The Sey-aah's have led the Physical plain for too long, and it is only fitting that the most brilliant among them fall to shadow."

"Rei, get ready with the Mirror Shard," Rey silently told his daughter. Rei nodded, and removed from her armor a small rock, only 10 centimeters across, which was covered in reflective surfaces. She secretly handed the king the object, as The Aether rose from its throne.

"You think yourself so tough," The Aether said. "You think that vanquishing me will end this. I can rise from the dead. And as long as your world remains unbalanced, we will be able to pass through to the Physical Plain."

"Unless," the king said to himself. "You are not dead to begin with."

The time for action had arrived. The Aether summoned two large orbs to float in the air around him. Through the orbs, the king felt as if he could witness all of the space that existed in the universe. With incredible force, the two orbs were launched towards the king. However, with quick reflexes, he thrust out his arms, and allowed the Mirror Shard to be struck with the orbs.

A large flash occurred, and the next thing anyone knew, all four of them were suddenly in front of the Tree of Time, located in the Physical plane. Rey and Rei smiled with relief, as Rasaak looked around fearfully. The Aether, within seconds, felt its power weakening, and could no longer support its own form. Unable to exist in the Physical Plane, The Aether was collapsing into nothingness. However, Rey' Sey-aah refused to let The Aether die, therefore allowing it to be reincarnated.

Because of this, another plan, which had, technically, already been partially put into effect, was designed for The Aether. Using the power of the wind, Rey lifted up the shadowy form, and launched it towards the Tree of Time. It landed with a splat, although it had no time to recover. Another blast of wind forced it inside of the tree, and then another held it to the ground. The king, with great haste, ran up to the center of the tree, and readied his sword, with now glowed bright green, as it harnessed the energy of the universe. The king raised the sword in the air, and delivered a mighty thrust to The Aether. Yet, the blade was caught, and soon, an epic battle of will occurred within the Tree of Time.

There was nothing Rei or Rasaak could do except watch, as the force of the conflict forced all away from the Tree of Time. Inside, however, The Aether was drastically running out of options. It knew full well that it was weakening, and that it would eventually fall.

But it did have a plan, dear reader. A most dreadful, despicable plan.

With the last of its remaining strength, The Aether tore itself into two pieces, and converted the lower half into sheer darkness. Escaping the energy-bending king, the darkness flew forth from the tree of Time.

Then, in horror, the king watched as the darkness attacked Rei, entering her through any opening it could find. She collapsed to the ground, near dead.

The king screamed in rage, and then thrusted his sword down upon the evil. The immense energy forced The Aether down deep into the very roots of the Tree of Time, and sealed away The Aether beneath the majestic tree, never to escape.

With incredible speed, the king dashed out of the Tree of Time, and ran to the collapsed Rei.

While all of this was occurring, Rasaak fell to his knees, and began to plea the king to save his life, like the sniveling coward he was. However, these words fell upon deaf ears, as Rey was far too occupied holding the body of Rei. Her once beautiful golden eyes were now two black ovals, with a thick fog pouring out of them. Blood ran from her mouth in a steady stream, and she shuddered immensely. Her eloquent skin had turned pale, and her veins had turned to a dark purple color. It was clearly quite the horrifying sight.

The truth of the matter (which, for the record, the wise king figured out almost immediately) is that right before it was imprisoned, The Aether gave a portion of its soul to Rei, infusing her with the mastery of space-time. However, this also corrupted her very essence, damning her to the insufferable agony of being both a positive and negative being. With this knowledge at hand, the king knew that there was very little he could do to save his beloved daughter.

However, there was a way to preserve her, which the king figured he would have had to do anyway.

And so, we know arrive to the history of the Three Checks and Balances of the Physical Plane.

See, the only reason The Aether could enter the Physical Plane was that it had become unbalanced from the connectivity of the mortals and spirits, which allowed too much light into the world. The Micrium realized this, and so, with heavy hearts, they devised three plans to keep the world balanced, which would therefore keep The Aether weakened, and unable to escape its confines. The Three Checks and Balances of the Universe were as follows:

The spiritual connection between mortals and nature was to be broken, allowing each spirit to run free as its own individual self.

Create physical manifestations of light and dark spirits, which would forever do battle every ten thousand years to keep the world in check.

The four masters of the dark elements were to be sealed around the Physical Plane in special tombs, designed to contain their power.

These checks and balances, while preventing the escape of The Aether, also, unfortunately, meant the very destruction of the Micrium's culture and society. However, for the good of the worlds, it was done.

Rey' Sey-aah was the last of his bloodline. His kin were either slaughtered or imprisoned. Yet, in the eyes of many, he was quite the good king.

Over the next several hundred thousand years, the Micrium people fell, and their cities obliterated by time. During this time as well, the spirits of light and dark fought each other, each balancing out the other, keeping the Physical Plane in check.

This would go on for many years, and, as long as the balance was kept, the Corrupt would never have the chance to rise again.

Then, you would have to believe that no one would ever do something as incredibly stupid, such as, oh, I don't know… converting the spirit of darkness back into peaceful light, therefore, even if temporarily, breaking the balance amidst the worlds.

But who could possibly be stupid enough to do that.

Oh… right.

My bad.

Well… I never said that this story would be completely boring now, did I?


	2. Waking Up

**The story continues on! As such, read it, review it, microwave it and serve it next to soggy french fries.**

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Korra groggily rose out of her bed. She rubbed her eyes, and yawned. She stretched out her limbs, feeling the satisfying crack in her spine.

She arose from her bed, and stared out the open window. Korra could never be one to say that she truly admired beauty in the world, but even she had to admit:

Republic City looked _gorgeous_.

The sprawling rooftops gave the city a feeling of immenseness; a grand scope of a never ending place of things to do. It felt like the perfect metropolis and very much looked the part.

Although, Korra did figure that part of this was due to the fact that she was very much inland.

If she were near the coast, all she would see was ruins, smoke, and construction crew; a very unpleasant site indeed.

Much had happened to Korra over the past few weeks. Since Unalaq was stopped, and Vaatu was taken care of, President Raiko gave Korra the best compensation he could offer at the time: a new apartment, near the more wealthy residential areas of the city.

"I saved everyone from Vaatu, and reconnected the Spirit World to our world, and all you give me is a _house_?" Korra had stubbornly complained.

"We are _very_ thankful," President Raiko had said to her. "But considering the damage to our city, we don't have many resources available to us currently. Besides, it is a rather nice apartment."

Korra had begrudgingly accepted the gift for several reasons. First of all, she actually wanted to be rather close to Republic City, instead of staying at the South Pole. She needed help from the president to organize a peaceful communion of the spirits into the world, and although she needed her family, she was still, technically, the only one who could help negotiate things more smoothly. Also, there just happened to be more of her friends living in Republic City than not, and she really wanted to be close to her friends. She couldn't particularly say _who_ she wanted to be close to, not even to herself.

But she was lying.

It was Mako.

Yes, she was quite aware that he was not interested in her anymore, and he was happily dating Asami, to such a merry degree that Bolin had once said to her, in deep annoyance,

"I don't think there is ever a time where they can keep their hands off of each other! It's just, 'I love you this,' and, 'I love you that,' and, 'when will Bolin leave so we can try that one _special_ thing together. You're just _really_ irresistible right now,' and also-… hey, Korra, are you alright? You look kinda sick."

For the record, that night, Korra shattered her mirror into exactly eleven pieces.

Regardless, she tried her best to stay near Mako, hoping that she could at least stay close friends with him (And, if the situation ever arrived, friends with _benefits. Lots of benefits._)

Regardless, we now come to the second reason Korra had accepted her new apartment, and that was her wish to leave Air Temple Island. Despite practically half of her family living there, she thought it would be best to separate herself from any connection to the past Avatars as much as possible. She would prefer not to think of all of her failures (of that there were many), and focus on starting a life away from her past destiny. As such, she said goodbye to Tenzin and his family, and started the long process of moving in.

The last reason was a rather simple one: she was almost seventeen years old, and she wanted her own house. All of the other people her age had their own houses. Asami lived in a giant mansion, Bolin and Mako shared an apartment together, and, honestly, Korra was a _teenager_. She was _prone_ to isolating people from herself.

Korra walked around her apartment. It was composed of four rooms: a large central living room, which only contained a radio, personally presented by Raiko himself, a kitchen, which had no oven of any sort, a bathroom, which was a bathroom, and a small sleeping quarters, where a small mattress was sprawled out on the floor, a closet that had an assorted pile of clothes in it, and the window that Korra was previously standing out of. The apartment was surprisingly small, considering that it was supposedly very expensive (although Korra didn't know for certain, as she was given the apartment for free, with no rent costs; _another_ reason she took it). In fact, the apartment was so tiny that Naga could not even fit inside with proper room, forcing the polar bear dog to stay at Air Temple Island, under Jinora's care. Korra was very much sure that Naga missed her, probably more than she missed Naga herself.

Korra would have thought about how much this bothered her, but she did not have time to, as there was a sudden knock on the door. Korra didn't have time to guess who it was at her door, as she heard some strained groans from the other side.

"Uh, hey, Korra?" the person said. "Could you, uh, open the door? This stuff is kinda _heavy_."

The voice carried the unmistakable charm of the youthful Bolin. Korra rushed to the door immediately. She had completely forgotten that she had asked Bolin to come over and help her move her things. It was just something that slipped her mid.

"Oops, sorry, Bolin!" Korra called out. She slid over to the door, and pressed her hand to the knob. Before she opened the door, however, she first checked to make sure that her shirt was nice and clean. She didn't care about how messy her hair was, and even if she did, she wouldn't have time to fix it. Her shirt appeared to be completely suitable, and she threw open the door. She saw a large stack of boxes being carried by a wobbly set of legs, with Pabu resting atop. Bolin suddenly popped his head out from behind the boxes, with a bright smile on his face.

"HI, KORRA!" He shouted happily. Korra was about to respond, when suddenly, her face flushed, and she slammed the door as fast as she could.

Korra realized that she was not wearing pants.

With great haste, she zipped back to her room, rummaged through the laundry, pulled out the first pair of shorts she could find, slipped them on, found they were a little too tight, ran back to the door, reopened it, and greeted the very confused Bolin.

"Hey, Bolin," she said, hoping that he had not actually seen anything.

"Why did you slam the door in my face?" Bolin asked, perplexed.

"Not important," Korra said quickly. She took some of the boxes from Bolin, and the two carried them inside. Placing the boxes down around the living room, Korra started to search through her belongings. "Let's see… this can go over there, this goes over here, I didn't even know I _had_ this."

"Man, I love the moving day spirit," Bolin spoke. "Nothing makes you feel better than taking a big empty place and filling it with a bunch of your personal belongings."

"Except my place isn't exactly that big," Korra mentioned.

"What are you talking about?" Bolin said in amazement. He outstretched his arms, and twirled in a circle. "This place is _huge_! Way bigger than my apartment, and I'm a _movie star._"

"Speaking of that,"Korra said. "Are you going to be making any more Nuktuk films being made?"

"Oh, Korra," Bolin said, trying to act as smooth as possible. "The work of an actor is never done." He paused. "It's just that… you know… since no other company than Verrick's has the movie technology, my work at the _time_ is sorta-"

"Done?" Korra suggested with a smirk. Bolin sneered.

"On _hold_," he emphasized, crossing his arms. "For now. But I'm being told by my agent that a sequel series is certainly on the way."

"That's good to hear," Korra said. She continued searching through the boxes. She found a picture of her parents, a shell necklace, an extra pair of winter boots, a scarf, a toothbrush, and then another picture.

However, this picture she held in her hands a little while longer than any other item, for it was a picture of her and Mako together. She was clinging on to him, a goofy smile on her face, while he was looking down on her with a look that could only be described as adoring.

Korra sighed.

_Let it go, Korra_, she told herself. _It wouldn't have worked out anyway. You're not compatible. Besides, he's with _Asami_ now. Asami is with _him_. Let it go._

"So, are you gonna join Mako and I at Asami's place later?" Bolin interrupted her thoughts.

"Huh?" Korra said. She thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head. "No, I can't. I need to meet with President Raiko to discuss the whole spirit relocation problem."

"Oh, that's too bad," Bolin said, although he did not appear to be upset by it.

In all honesty, even if Korra didn't have to meet with the president, she still would have said that she did. She was under a lot of stress at the moment, and the last thing she needed to see was a make-out session between the person she (doesn't) love, and a girl much richer and prettier than she was.

"My girlfriend's gonna be there," Bolin continued.

"Oh yeah," Korra said. She had briefly forgotten that Bolin was part of the hottest power couple in the world. She was actually surprised she was able to do so, considering how she couldn't walk ten feet without someone gossiping about them on the street. "How are you two doing?"

"Oh, just fine," Bolin said, albeit a little somberly. "You know, always going places with her, buying her clothes, and jewelry, and dresses, and makeup. Good stuff."

Korra couldn't help but notice that Bolin was sniffling, and he appeared to be holding in tears.

"You _miss_ her, don't you?" Korra said in disbelief. Bolin, without any hesitation, burst into a wail, many tears streaming down his cheeks.

"WHY DID SHE LEAVE ME ALONE?!" Bolin sobbed.

"She's _insane_," Korra said.

"BUT I LOVE HER SO!" Bolin cried out through his tears. Korra, despite the multiple weeks, still had no idea what bizarre bond had connected Bolin and her cousin, but she knew it was probably not a healthy one. Despite this, she knew full well what it was like to away from a person you care about, and with a groan, she went to the kitchen. She opened one of the cabinet doors, and grabbed the sole jar present. Feeling like she was helping someone with a drug addiction, she tossed Bolin her jar of chocolate cream, which he caught in trembling hands.

"Eat that," Korra said, annoyed. "It helps wash away the pain."

Bolin immediately started shoving fistful's of the substance down his gullet, all the while sobbing relentlessly.

"THANK Y-Y-YOU-HU-HU!" Bolin sobbed out through a mouthful of cream.

Korra walked into her bedroom, and lied down upon the mattress.

_Anything to heal a broken heart_, Korra thought, staring at the empty ceiling.

* * *

It was dark.

Oh, so _pleasantly_ dark.

And in this darkness, two black, soulless eyes shot open for the first time in one million years.

Rasaak looked around, and saw nothing but extremely satisfying darkness. He noticed that he was upright, yet chained with heavy chains to whatever prison he was confined to. He wriggled himself about, although the chains would not give way. However, with a bloody grin, he grasped onto the chains with his hands, and focused his energy into the refined metal. Soon, from where his hands met the chains, a red crack formed, and started spreading its way throughout the metal. Within seconds, the metal was covered in the Corruption, and was covered in the red patterns. With a simple flick of his wrists, the chains fell apart, allowing Rasaak to push the doors open to his eternal prison.

He was immediately met with sunlight. Bright, horrid, putrid sunlight. He covered his face, as he fell to the ground, and looked behind him towards the bonds that had formerly held him. The prison was nothing more than a large coffin attached to an even larger spike, planted firmly in the ground, and colored black. A red symbol marked the front of the coffin door, which was now opened fully. Peering inside, he found his staff, and plucked it from the cage. He turned back around to the most terrible sunlight, and covered his eyes once more.

He started to walk forward. He was very weak, but it didn't matter to him. He was in the Physical Plane, but it didn't matter to him. He was probably asleep for a very long time, but it didn't matter to him.

He was _free_.

He watched a creature scamper by him.

A glowing rabbit of some sort.

With a quick flick of his wrist, the crystal atop his staff fired off a red blast of energy, striking the creature with such force as to knock it over completely. However, the animal did not die. Rasaak smiled pleasantly as he heard the animal's screams and cries of pain. The red cracks ruptured through the animal's body, and its skin turned to the color of ash. A few short moments later, the animal stopped making noises, and slowly rose to its feet. It hissed ferociously at Rasaak, before hopping its way through out the Spirit World; in every footprint it left, dead grass formed, black and cold.

"VE are avake at laast," Rasaak spoke to himself. "Ve must find Zee Aetha. Let eet no zat ze vorld is uunbalaanced."

Rasaak slowly lurked through the Spirit World, hiding beneath his cloak to avoid the sun. His destination was unknown to him, but he did not mind, as he enjoyed himself by Corrupting everything in his path.

After many eons of waiting, it was finally time for the Negative Realm to return to power.

The Corrupt had returned.


	3. A Tale of Two Souls

**The journey continues. Hey, let us know what you think of how everything is turning out so far. After all, we all know the famous saying. Unity is... something... something else that is wise... uh... yeah...**

* * *

The Sato Mansion, was, as anyone who has ever known a rich person would tell you, insanely, unnecessarily, drastically, ridiculously _huge_. Its enormity was certainly too much for one teenager to own completely to herself. Well, _technically_, the butlers, chefs, maids, engineers, personal pilots, personal drivers, personal seamen, and a secretary also lived there, but _technically_, standing in one spot all day and then going to slept in a small, cramped basement could hardly be considered living.

It wasn't as if Asami wasn't trying to improve their living conditions. She most certainly was. But it seemed that the servants had decorated their little rooms with many personal belongings, and they seemed almost reluctant to leave. No one was sure whether to call it ironic or sad.

So I'll call it nothing. In fact, I'll never speak of it twice. I digress.

On this particular day, the Sato mansion was mostly empty. However, ever so often, a young girl would sprint across the halls, frantically checking every little detail of the house.

Asami needed the house to be absolutely perfect. This day was very important to her. It was her first actual date with Mako since they had gotten back together, and she needed everything to be perfect. She knew how easily it was for him to lose interest in her (he never even broke up with her, _technically_). This date needed to prove that the two of them could still have perfect chemistry. Although, _technically_, it wasn't much of a date, since Bolin was also going to show up with Ginger, and there were _technically_ also going to be some of the biggest celebrities in all of Republic City, who _technically_ weren't invited, but _technically_ didn't need an invitation because they were so famous, they could go anywhere they wanted. And after all, who didn't want to be wherever the biggest couple in the world were going to be?

But Asami didn't care about any of them. She was focused on the one with the red scarf. Unless, of course, someone else showed up with a red scarf, in which case, her attention would solely be focused on Mako. Regardless, Asami needed to make sure her house was clean, which she found to be a rather painstakingly tedious process. The Sato Mansion had exactly 87 rooms, and the guests would no doubtedly trample upon each and every one. Asami had already taken the first precaution of locking up all of her most personal belongings in what she assumed to be a very safe place. She had also bothered to lock up her bedroom (although, _technically_, it was actually her favorite and most preferred bedroom out of twenty-one choices).

However, her real trouble was clearing out the other rooms. Now, you might be asking yourself the following question: If the staff's only purpose was to stand around in one spot, why didn't _they_ help clean the mansion?

Well, in truth, they _technically_ did. At this precise moment, they were focused on fixing other things, such as cooking or washing. However, Asami didn't trust her staff very much. She honestly did this because she was almost 100 percent confident that the staff didn't like her at all. She assumed that it might have been because of her age. After all, several of the staff were parents, and they probably had enough of teenage girls yelling at them to do things. Now, Asami actually didn't yell at them (too much), but she was still sure that the age was the root of the problem.

However, there was another very strong possibility, which was that Asami was worrying too much about people liking her, and immediately developed an ideology that people pretended to like her, but in actuality, they really wanted to wait until she fell asleep before driving a dagger straight through her jugular.

She had a small part of her mind which knew this very well, but _technically_, she hated that part of her mind, and wished that it would simply stay silent for the rest of eternity.

She ignored her thoughts, and returned her focus to checking over the cleanliness of the third bathroom on the second floor. Asami had armed herself to the teeth with cleaning solution, wipes and towels, and very methodically, she closely examined every last inch of every last countertop. Everything appeared to be in order, yet she checked over everything once more just to be absolutely sure.

She was now satisfied with the bathroom. She strolled out of the room with a weary face and tired posture. She was somewhat hoping that she was close to done, as the work was very tedious and rather boring. However, she still had the unfortunate pleasure of cleaning another six bathrooms, three living rooms, and five bedrooms.

There was approximately two hours left before the guests would arrive. Asami finished cleaning in one.

The scene could only be described out of something from a dream. Asami suddenly seemed to inherit super speed; her movements increasing so rapidly that her very form appeared to resemble a blur, a pure form of motion that did not seem to react normally to the laws of physics. Her mad desire for hygiene had propelled her into a state of intense intensity (so to speak), and it was with more efficiency than ever before that she cleaned the estate. The wiping of the counters was so quick that some might have sworn that they heard the crack of the sound barrier being utterly shattered. The laundry was washed so thoroughly that the average human being would have said, with the utmost honesty, that they had never been exposed to the filth of the outside world. The house sparkle with a brilliant sheen; no dirt or grime was present in the slightest.

With a heavy sigh, Asami flopped onto a couch in the first living room on the third floor, her hands resting behind her head. She knew she could only rest for a moment before she would have to prepare for her date. After all, she could not be at a party with such famous guests (which was still unwanted, for the record) in her current clothing. Her shirt was covered in a black muck, her arms were brown and dirty, her pants felt greasy to the touch, and her boots weren't shiny or pretty or elegant by any means. But for the moment, Asami could lay back and stare at the ceiling.

The first living room on the third floor was expansive, to say the least. The ceiling was twenty feet above the floor, and the roof curved almost into a dome. There were three satin red couches in the room; Asami had taken the one closest to the stairs, which led directly to the second floor lobby. The couches themselves were very soft and comfortable, and if she didn't have to get prepared, Asami would most certainly feel like falling asleep, right there on the spot. In the past, she had in fact taken naps there, but those times were long ago, when her mother was still alive, and the household was much happier. Asami briefly dwelled in these memories, thinking fondly of the times long past. If she had the time, she would have drifted off into slumber, and dreamt happily of such moments.

But Asami didn't have time for that. She had a date to get ready for.

Asami bounded off of the couch, and ran towards the first bathroom she could find. It passed her on the right, and she raced inside. With slight bitterness, Asami realized that if she were to take a shower, then she would have to re-wash the towels. Asami stripped and hopped into the shower regardless, and as she cleansed herself she thought of what she would need to do to get rid of the excess filth in the house.

She would need to dispose of her old towels and clothing. She supposed she could run another wash of clothing, but it might take too long to finish, and the guests would arrive, thinking that she had dirty laundry and was therefore an unintelligible human being, unworthy of love and attention. (Although, _technically_, that was probably paranoia, as everyone had to do laundry at some point in their lives.) However, her worrying got the better of her, and as she stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in the white cloth, she picked up all of her other belongings and ran to her favorite bedroom.

While the bedroom was in fact locked, the key was not very difficult to locate. On the door to the bedroom was a note with an arrow, which Asami had placed earlier. The arrow pointed towards the nearest recreation area. Asami knew full well what would happen if many celebrities gathered in a large mansion. The outcome would most certainly be many drunken idiots bumbling about where they aren't supposed to go. The sign was simply meant to redirect anyone who happened to stumble by, as Asami was quite sure that if someone was too drunk to walk around the house and tug on doors, then they certainly would not question a sign telling them where more alcohol was located.

As for the key, it was attached to the back of the paper. At this point in time, Asami reached her room, and had removed the key from its hiding spot, unlocking the door. She stepped into the room, and shut the door behind her. She tossed her dirty clothes and her wet towels into the corner, and proceeded to walk towards her closet.

She examined each item of clothing carefully. She needed something that said, "I'm very much in to you," while at the same time saying, "I'm not going to sleep with you tonight, so don't even bother to try". She passed by a sparkling red dress, strapless, low cut, accenting all of the right features, and soft to the touch. After a moment's consideration, she pushed it aside, and continued on her search. She brushed passed the sweats she used for maintenance, which were still stained with oil and grease. She passed by tight, stretchy gym clothes, used whenever she needed to practice her martial arts.

It took Asami another ten minutes to pick out her outfit. And, wouldn't you know it, but it was the exact same outfit she seemed to wear every single day! Yes, she was being very casual, and also a little tacky, but it was comfortable, and Mako wouldn't mind, so she kept her clothing.

As for the makeup, well, it took another forty minutes to do that. After all, she couldn't afford to have both casual clothes _and_ makeup now, could she? She put on red lipstick, and red eyeliner, and pink blush, and dark eye shadow, and purple nail polish, and masquera, and, when it was all said and done, she looked like one of the most outstandingly beautiful creatures on the planet.

Although, _technically_, Mako didn't really care about makeup anyway.

Asami then walked over to the bed; soft blue blankets and sheets under a silky white canopy all above a very smooth mattress (with great chiropractic support!). She lied on the floor, and rummaged beneath the mattress, feeling around for a particular item. At last, with a smirk, she pulled it out from underneath the bed, and placed it on top of the sheets. The object in question was a large, black briefcase, with a large padlock on the front. The key to the padlock was, very conveniently, located behind the bed, which, after a little difficulty and some slight stretching, Asami was able to retrieve. Asami unlocked the briefcase, and opened it wide. There were a plethora of objects that Asami didn't want others to get their hands on. However, one item specifically came to her mind. Asami reached into the briefcase, and pulled out the small journal from within.

Now, the story of Asami's journal requires some explaining. After the company was ransacked and nearly went out of business, Asami realized the importance of keeping track of information. As such, she purchased a journal to write down her thoughts in as they came to her. Over the past few weeks, this had proven to be very helpful to Asami's work. New ideas sprung to mind constantly, and like clockwork, she kept coming up with great ideas.

However, Asami also used the journal to keep track of more _personal _thoughts, as well. As such, she couldn't afford to let anyone else see it. At this moment, Asami sat down on her bed, took up a pen from a nearby drawer, and opened to a fresh page. The entry was as follows:

_Brief update on production schedule. Plans to start production on fully oil-free engine need to start later than expected due to complications with steam mechanism._

_Competition aiming more towards prospect of war. Rumors of Draige Industries starting new developmental weapon have yet to be confirmed. Advisors recommend that I gained insight on the developments. I refused. My company must avoid entering violent enterprises; focus solely on better lifestyle._

_Today's news: First date with Mako in over half a year. Petrified. Glad I could finally write that one down. We should hopefully be able to get passed all of the distractions caused by the guests. There are going to be more people showing up. I shouldn't have invited Bolin. It's not his fault by any means; I still like him. Just hate the crowd he draws with him and his girlfriend. I should've just gone out with a small date with Mako. Regretting that decision now._

_Hopefully Korra won't show up. I think she has something important to be doing today, but I can't remember. If this date is going to work, the last thing I need is an ex-girlfriend hanging out with us. Hopefully, this will become a nonissue in time._

_Hopefully everything will go smooth. Reminder: check further into staff. Those people hate me._

Asami closed her notebook, and relocked it in the briefcase. She hid it back under her bed, and put the key back into place. Standing up and checking her outfit in the mirror one last time, she exited her room, replacing the key to the door as well.

Immediately, she noticed many loud noises coming from down the hall. With a quizzical look, Asami walked down the hall, and entered into the first living room on the third floor.

It was crowded with famous people.

Furiously, Asami realized that she must have lost track of the time, and pushed her way through the crowds. Most of them appeared to be drinking, despite the fact that Asami did not have any alcohol in her house. People were simply everywhere, and taking up so much space that Asami was starting to develop claustrophobia. However, she knew that these people would only be there if Bolin and Ginger were there, and wherever Bolin went, his brother was sure to be close behind.

Asami figured that the crowd would be largest around the biggest super-couple in the world. She had correctly predicted the behavior of the celebrities when she thought that they would arrive, and now, she was trying to do it once more. She listened carefully for where the noise was the loudest, and she followed it. Her ears led her down the corridor, past more people (who already seemed to be drunk), down some stairs, and, eventually, to the large pool room.

And, of course, the drunkards were already there.

Resting alongside the edge of the pool were the two most brilliant stars in the cosmos. Ginger was clutching Bolin tightly, as he talked happily to all of the people around him. Those who were around him were either pompous celebrities or annoying paparazzi, both of which tried to get as close as possible to the movie star. However, Ginger helped somewhat by shooing them away every time they got too close for comfort. It amazed Asami how everything seemed to be escalating so quickly. Dozens were in o around the pool, and it seemed like the staff was reaching the limit of its abilities to handle the situation.

Regardless, Asami had a boyfriend to find.

Luckily for her, the search was not rather difficult. In fact, she saw Mako's red scarf almost immediately, as he was standing only just behind the large crowd of people. Asami pushed past some more celebrities, and, at long last, she reached him.

"Mako!" Asami shouted, shoving past more people. Mako turned around quickly to see Asami finally stop right in front of him. He was holding flowers, and had a somewhat nervous complexion.

"Asami, there you are," Mako said with relief. He handed Asami the flowers.

"Aw, there beautiful," Asami said sweetly, taking the flowers with joy. It was nearly impossible to hear over the noise of the party.

""It's kind of crazy in here," Mako commented.

"I know," Asami said. "I didn't invite any of these people. They just showed up because Bolin did. Aren't you going to tell him that we should get the date started?"

"I don't think that's gonna be possible," Mako said, glancing back at the large crowd separating him from his brother. "I don't think I can tell him. Even if I could, I'm not sure that he'll be able to leave."

"Well then so much for a double date," Asami groaned. Mako tried to respond, but his voice could not be heard over the rambunctious guests. He sighed.

"Do you want to go somewhere less, you know, _crowded_?" he asked.

Asami pouted her lips. She had just spent the entire day cleaning the house for her date, and now, she was being asked to go somewhere else. However, she didn't complain. Really, she didn't mind leaving the house. She too thought it was getting too crowed to enjoy anything.

Although, _technically_, if Mako hadn't offered, she wouldn't have wanted to leave, because _technically_, she wanted to go along with whatever Mako wanted to do, because she really wanted to stay together with him.

But _technically_, she wouldn't admit that to anyone.

* * *

One would take the assumption that an important meeting between a spiritual representative and a government leader would be one of the most interesting and important things that could ever be seen.

The one who made that assumption would be completely wrong.

Korra entered the meeting room in the Presidential offices not with a shimmer of interest, but with a dull stare of absolute boredom. Don't be misled into thinking that Korra didn't care about the negotiations between the humans and the spirits; she most certainly did. It was simply that she thought that there would be far less politics involved, and perhaps more, "everyone talks out there matters in a nice, communal way, without any long winded speeches", so to speak. Because Korra hated politics.

_Everyone_ hates politics. And if you think you like politics, you're wrong. _You_ hate politics, too.

But Korra was forced to quietly sit and wait as a very formal, very boring, and very complex meeting took place before her. In the office was a large mahogany table, oval in shape. On one end of the table was President Raiko, sitting all tall and efficient like, as any leader should. On the other end of the table was something much stranger. It looked something like a tiger, although it was anthropomorphic, and wore purple robes, and a strange purple hat. Its name was Tyi (pronounce that as you will), and it was the spirit ambassador for the evening. Korra had found herself to be placed dead center between the two, glancing back and forth as they discussed important things, and whatnot.

"We do not wish to be intrusive," Tyi said; his front paws clasped together.

"I understand that full well," Raiko said with a blank face. "But you have to understand our precautions about this. Humans and spirits have not lived together in ten thousand years."

"Actually they were pretty much fighting back then too," Korra corrected.

"Right," Raiko agreed. "We don't want to cause distress among the world."

"You seem to be under the false impression that we will damage the world," Tyi stated.

"It's not that," Raiko said. "It's simply that there are people who are completely against this. Some cultures are very abrasive towards the spirits. The Fire Nation still has deep resentment towards your people."

"We've noticed," Tyi said. "I was chosen for ambassador, however, because I understand how to overcome problems. As long as the general public is in favor of the worlds reuniting, then we should mostly settle in quite well."

"We _do_ need to make the world comfortable with your presence," Raiko agreed. "That is why I would like to put in some laws regarding how much either party could accomplish."

"Whoa, wait," Korra interrupted. "Why do we need to put limitations on the spirits? They're peaceful in nature. They don't harm others!"

"It's simply a precaution," Raiko said firmly. "In society, laws keep us safe and protected. If we are to live as equals, then the spirits need to adjust to their limitations."

"That's not fair!" Korra said somewhat angrily. However, Tyi raised a paw.

"Calm yourself, Avatar," it stated. "Mr. President, what terms do you wish to ratify? For your city, of course."

"A few small things," Raiko said. "No spirit is to cause physical harm to a human for any reason."

"Fair."

"Spirits are not allowed to quarter the homes of citizens of Republic City."

"We live in nature."

"Spirits will contribute to the good of the city via ecology projects."

"We'll do our best."

"Republic City will invoke a tax on spirits who take residence in the city."

"What would we pay in?"

"Simple. You would take a reduced price for the resources you will help draw in."

"Absolutely not," Tyi stated suddenly. "We are not going to tear down our homes and sell them off to you. We simply want a peaceful existence among humans."

"You can't just to live alongside humans nonchalantly while we do all of the work," Raiko said, slowly getting more bitter. "We all need to work together for the world to thrive."

"You mean _you're _world to thrive," Tyi spat out. "All you humans ever try to do is take advantage of us. I have even received word that the Earth Kingdom plans to start colonizing the Spirit World! How will any of this benefit us? Our homes? Our lives?"

"Everyone, calm down," Korra urged. She felt as if the situation was slowly slipping away, and she needed to reclaim control of the meeting. "We are all working towards the same goal here. Constant arguing isn't going to get us anywhere."

"You need to contribute to the world!"

"Not if it will destroy our people!"

"Enough!" Korra suddenly yelled, rising from her chair. A sudden gust of wind blew into both the President and Tyi, nearly knocking them over. They both stopped talking.

"Look, this is going to be hard to get used to," Korra said very sternly. "But I don't want to regret keeping that portal open. We need to put thousands of years' worth of anger behind, and look ahead. That starts with trusting one another. The spirits are kind and peaceful unless they are provoked. Humans can be greedy and want to much, but they can also know compassion. If you two can't learn to try and help each other, then what was the point of doing any of this in the first place?!"

The room was filled with silence. Korra sighed, taking a seat once again. She didn't feel good about watching the two species fight each other. After all, she sort of belonged to both of them. She needed to remain mediator throughout if she wanted this reunion of worlds to work.

However, seeing as how fast the two grew angry at each other, Korra was starting to feel doubt about the future of the worlds.

She would have felt even more doubt if she could foresee what was going to happen _next._


End file.
